ColinBarber

I know PowerHouseRacing in the US tuned a Toyota Supra which developed 1050 bhp (cannot remember if that was at the wheels or fly) and clocked 8.98seconds @ 154.1mph for 1/4 mile. FYI that didn't have sat nav!

Mat, I just noticed that your paint code is 040. That colour has been around a long time. I had a 1985 MR2 in that colour! Don't know what it was called then.

The TTE springs for the IS and GS are re-badged Eibachs and lower by 30mm. The GS Sport is lowered by 25mm. I don't know if they use the same springs? Maybe the shocks are also different on the sport which is why the drop is not 30mm? The IS300 is 15mm lower than the IS200. The new GS sport (July 2003) is 20mm lower than the standard GS. I installed the Eibachs on my GS300. It improved body roll and the car looked better but crashed over bumps (slightly more than the stock ones). It always felt that the springs didn't suit the shocks.

It's the new style so there shouldn't be any ERR3 problems.

Has the CD-R got a label on it? These sometimes make the disc too thick and cause problems.

What a pain. There must be so many on backorder to have to wait that long. It only took a week when my wife's one got swapped out last year. You won't have much luck getting one from the showroom as they have different connectors on the new head unit. Still they should have one or two from their used car stock they could swap it over with.

Keith, I think the MKI is a great car and I also like the look of the MKI sport better than the MKII. However having driven both that is the only thing I feel is better. They are completly different cars. The MKII is much smoother, very quite, less wind noise, better on fuel and a nicer interior. Plus they didn't do a 4.3 MKI :P

I would never say SO-3s are quite. They are a performance tyre and therefore comprimise comfort and noise. There are worse tyres for noise but I regretted putting them on my GS. They were great on my Supra but I wasn't too concerned about noise then. I have been looking for the best tyre to put on my 430 once the rubbish Bridgestone RE030s have worn. The Bridgestone Turanza LS-Z are getting great reviews but don't seem available in the UK, I may have to import them from the US. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?ti...el=Turanza+LS-Z My old GS300 had the 16" wheels. I must say that the GS430 handles and rides much better with the 17" wheels but that may be suspension modifications rather than the tyres. Road noise is worse but that's due to the RE030s compared to the 16" OEM Yokos. Noise is about the same compared with the 16" SO-3s.

At well over £100 per set and probably at least half is profit, it's a good way to make some money. Having said that if you have Andorra trim (light grey) the mats do get dirty quickly and will never look like new again so it would be best to throw them.

It's a left hand drive car

I've seen 3 or 4 of them. It's just a VW with a different engine and I think the VW look better.

Try giving Lexus Norwich a call. Dipstick got an excellent deal on a similar service for a GS the other day, much cheaper than other dealers. Even if you don't want to go there for a service you may be able to use the quote to beat the price down from your local dealer.

Why don't dealers follow the service schedule? Brake fluid should be changed on a Full service. Gearbox oil should be checked every 40,000miles and not replaced as I said earlier. You shouldn't need an engine flush if quality oil is being used and it's replaced at the correct intervals.

Welcome, Not all dealers give LOC discounts and some give different discounts so ask around. It is worth getting quotes from several dealers as the prices do vary. The cam belt change is a few hours work and the 8 plugs bump up the price, a normal service will be much cheaper. I have never had a problem supplying my own oil. It saves me £30 per service. The air con does make a difference but probably not the 4mpg you saw. I have achieved my best ever mpg (33.4 mpg) in my GS300 on a 25 mile journey that I make every week when the AC was on and it was 30C outside. Once the set temperature is reached the AC will cut in and out so even if there is a 4mpg difference the average would only be about 2mpg. I would be careful of using US parts. There will be plenty of parts that are the same but I would check the part numbers. Servicing parts should be the same (double check brake pads) and you should be able to supply them for your dealer to use along with your own oil.

Don't count on it. The Lexus is a heavier car and the 6 cylinder engine uses more fuel than a 4 cylinder one. All IS200 manual gearboxes are 6-speed. Look for tyre wear (on the inside edge), ball joint wear, poor gearchange and stereo ERR3 when loading CDs

Great news. Hopefully that will be an end to your troubles. A nice new set of mats will make the interior look so much better. Shame you didn't get a new Sat Nav CD from them.

With that type of journey I would expect that mpg. Around town mpg is normally very low. On a motorway run I can get around 30-32mpg average.

I would ask for a breakdown of all the things they will be doing. You may find, for example, one is replacing the brake fluid and the other one isn't. However there can be large differences between dealer prices! An 80k service should be a full service + gearbox oil + engine coolant and depending when your air filter was last changed that may be changed as well. Remember your GOLD discount

1 - Optimax, you're wallet will be much lighter 2 - Get in the slipstream of Loz 3 - Remove you're indicator bulbs (a trick all BMW owners seem to use)

My wife doesn't really like my car, too big for her to drive she doesn't like autos. Just as well I don't let her then :P She does love her IS200 sport though.

The ball joints are part of the suspension/steering that allow the wheels to turn and move up and down (a bit like a towbar ball). If they are worn you will get loose steering and a crashing when going over bumps.

The trip computer is accessible on my old GS300 when on the move. I used it all the time. It's the version of sat nav disc that's the problem. It not only contains the road data but the code the system runs so a new disc will upgrade the firmware and the operating system. You should then be able to press the trip button at will. When you first put in a new disc the system takes a minute to firmware upgrade. I don't know if this will enable the new options or it runs from the disc. If it is the first option then you may be able to borrow a disc from somebody, let the system upgrade and then put in your old disc. Worth a try but I guess you will probably need the new disc in all the time to make use of the new options.

What the hell has a few body parts and suspension got to do with the interior switch gear lights? I'm with Loz. Speak with the manager, demand an apology and say only a new sat nav disc will put things right ;) It sounds like you have a loose connection, quite easy to check yourself but you shouldn't have to. Good to hear you have new brakes. Have the ball joints helped with the ride quality?

What do you mean by "trip"? Trip computer or destination?

Haven't had too many problems with any of my cars, normal exhaust and tyres etc etc. I had a cambelt break on a Ford Capri but fluked it and had no valve damage so I only had to fork out £11 for a new belt. The worst was a Rover 416GTi. Excellent Honda engine but electrical problems and the boot leaked. Got rid of it after 9 month for a MKI MR2 - Best decision I have ever made!